The Taste of Trouble

The door slammed behind Ethan, but the sound didn't feel real.

I stood there, my heartbeat skidding off track, my hands still shaking.

I should have gone after him.

Should have pulled him back.

But instead, I stood frozen.

Because I knew—I knew what was coming next.

Ethan was going to find Jax.

And this time?

I wasn't sure if he'd make it back.

I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers, my breath coming too fast.

I dialed before I could talk myself out of it.

Tessa picked up on the second ring.

"…Liv?"

Her voice was hesitant. Uncertain.

Like she wasn't sure she should be answering.

Like she didn't know if we were still friends.

I didn't have time to think about that.

"I need your help."

A pause.

A long one.

Then—

"What happened?"

I swallowed hard.

"Ethan's going after Jax."

Silence.

Then, sharper this time—

"Where?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I need to stop him."

Tessa exhaled, muttering a curse under her breath.

And then—

"I'm coming."

I paced my apartment, my phone clutched in my hands.

Every minute that passed felt like an hour.

I checked my messages.

Nothing from Ethan.

Nothing from Jax.

Only the last text from the unknown number.

"Time's almost up, sweetheart."

I clenched my jaw.

What did that mean?

What was Jax planning?

And worse—was Ethan walking straight into it?

Tessa arrived fast, her hair still damp from a shower, her face set in a hard, unreadable expression.

She didn't hesitate.

She didn't ask questions.

She just stepped inside and grabbed my keys off the counter.

"Let's go."

I followed, my stomach in knots.

I had spent days lying to her.

Spent weeks picking Ethan over her.

And yet—

She was still here.

Because no matter how much I had hurt her,

She still cared enough to save me from myself.

Tessa gripped the steering wheel tight, her eyes scanning the road like she was looking for a fight.

"What's your plan?" she asked.

I swallowed hard. "Find Ethan before Jax does."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"And if Jax already found him?"

My stomach twisted.

I didn't have an answer for that.

Because the truth?

I didn't want to think about it.

Tessa and I didn't speak as she pulled up outside the old fight gym.

The one Ethan always went to when he needed to hit something.

The one he always ran to when he was spiraling.

And I knew—he was spiraling now.

Tessa threw the car in park.

"This is a bad idea."

I nodded.

"I know."

But I still got out of the car.

Because bad idea or not—

I wasn't leaving him alone in this.

The second I stepped inside, I felt it.

The shift in the air.

The tension.

The danger.

Ethan wasn't alone.

And neither was Jax.

My breath hitched as I spotted them.

Jax, leaning against the wall, his smirk sharp as a blade.

Ethan, standing stiff, his fists tight at his sides.

And then—

Two other guys.

Big. Unfamiliar.

Standing too close to Jax.

Like backup.

Like a setup.

My stomach dropped.

Ethan had walked straight into a trap.

Jax noticed me first.

His smirk widened.

"Well, well. Look who finally showed up."

Ethan's head snapped toward me.

And when our eyes met?

I saw it.

The warning.

The plea.

Leave.

But I couldn't.

Because this wasn't just about him anymore.

It was about both of us.

And if he was going down?

I wasn't letting him do it alone.

Jax pushed off the wall, stepping toward Ethan.

"I don't know why you're so mad, Carter."

His voice was smooth, mocking.

"You did this to yourself."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

His breath was steady, controlled.

But I saw the way his fingers twitched.

He was barely holding himself back.

And Jax knew it.

Jax was waiting for it.

Because the second Ethan threw the first punch?

This would be over.

Jax's smirk sharpened.

"You thought this was just about you?" he murmured.

He turned to me.

And suddenly—

His eyes were on me.

My breath caught.

Ethan tensed.

And then, in a voice that made my stomach turn to ice—

Jax said, "She's the real reason you're in this mess."

Ethan lunged.

I gasped.

The room erupted.

And just like that—

Everything fell apart.

Ethan walks straight into Jax's trap.

Liv realizes she was always part of the plan.

A fight breaks out—but what is Jax really planning?

Liv and Ethan have to survive the fallout.